Does the shape of your wine glass matter?

At Bloor West Winery, we have several different lines of wine glasses, with different design elements, price points, and materials, but all of them share one common characteristic:

The bulb of the wine glass is wider than the rim.

For any still wine, you should always use a glass with that shape because it concentrates the aromas of your wine. “Aroma” is the third step in evaluating the wine in your glass.

Step one is to look at the wine for colour and clarity.

Step two is to swirl the wine in the glass.

Step three is to smell the wine.

To get the best sense of the smell of your wine, position your nose right inside the glass and breathe in deeply. Some wine enthusiasts suggest closing your eyes.

In smelling the wine, you will identify the flavours that are present in the wine, providing that you recognize them. Most people can identify the smell of strawberries, cherries, pineapple; But how many know the smell of quince?

(As an aside, one of the best ways to improve your ability to discern flavours in wine is to scour the fruit and vegetable department of your local grocery store and smell each and every item. You are building the database of aromas in your brain!)

As you smell the wine, you will also identify other aromas – such as spices (pepper in a Shiraz, for instance), vegetables (green peppers in many red wines), non-food aromas (such as tobacco and leather, usually in red wines), floral notes and “everyday” smells (like freshly cut grass in a Sauvignon Blanc).

You’re also looking for smells that should not be in your wine. Is the wine “corked” – which is to say, Is the wine contaminated by cork taint?

Often, a “corked” wine will smell like a musty, damp basement – definitely, somewhere you'd rather not be! Wine experts also describe corked wine as smelling like old newspapers or wet dog.

Once you have processed the aromas of your wine and determined that it is not corked, you may proceed to step # 4: Drinking your wine!